NAAFI to go...
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I know it wasn’t MADE by NAAFI, but I still have a fridge in full working order which I bought from the NAAFI in Sungai Patani in Northern Malaysia in 1968. It's my beer cooler.
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Yeah they were all over the Province. Albert Bridge, Girdwood, the Mill, Ballykelly, Londonderry.... and I think that at one point the whole franchise was owned by one Choggie.
Before that they were in Cyprus and Singapore, Scotland and Germany. In fact whereever the British Army was to be found But as far as I remember, in the Province they had to bring in their supplies themselves from outside the wire and hence had to brave the run in and out.
IIRC a couple were shot by the Provos for their troubles. At that time in Northern Ireland they must have stood out like a sore thumb.
Tbh I can't say I ever grew to the Naafi and their mostly empty shelfs.
Before that they were in Cyprus and Singapore, Scotland and Germany. In fact whereever the British Army was to be found But as far as I remember, in the Province they had to bring in their supplies themselves from outside the wire and hence had to brave the run in and out.
IIRC a couple were shot by the Provos for their troubles. At that time in Northern Ireland they must have stood out like a sore thumb.
Tbh I can't say I ever grew to the Naafi and their mostly empty shelfs.
Don't hold your breath for the Grand Closing Down Sale. That was a huge non-event at Christmas Island, where the NAAFI closing extravaganza was keenly awaited by those who coveted the watches, trannies and cameras in stock, once the final withdrawal was announced.
There was to be air passage for personnel only and no sea passage whatsoever. Ambushes were set by 'Squippers, and if you walked into one it was a fair cop as you were led away to the Equipment Officer, who had sundry Inventories already made up. All that was required was that you took on charge the mixture of MT spares, surgical instruments, furniture, light bulbs etc that your one contained. Once issued by stores it could all be promptly written off, but not beforehand (hence the ambushes). The real challenge however was the Fuel Farm, newly built by the RE's and then filled to the brim with Avgas. It took the three weeks from announcement to closure to burn it all off, day and night, by means of filling a prepared hole in the ground, setting it alight, allowing to burn off completely, leave to cool, and repeat as above.
Eventually the last few days arrived and NAAFI shelfs (sic!) were indeed empty, but still no Grand Sale! When the NAAFI manager boarded the Hastings it was with cameras strung round his neck, watches worn up both arms, and the rest filling his baggage allowance. Not sure how he was going to get that lot past the Changi Snowdrops though...
There was to be air passage for personnel only and no sea passage whatsoever. Ambushes were set by 'Squippers, and if you walked into one it was a fair cop as you were led away to the Equipment Officer, who had sundry Inventories already made up. All that was required was that you took on charge the mixture of MT spares, surgical instruments, furniture, light bulbs etc that your one contained. Once issued by stores it could all be promptly written off, but not beforehand (hence the ambushes). The real challenge however was the Fuel Farm, newly built by the RE's and then filled to the brim with Avgas. It took the three weeks from announcement to closure to burn it all off, day and night, by means of filling a prepared hole in the ground, setting it alight, allowing to burn off completely, leave to cool, and repeat as above.
Eventually the last few days arrived and NAAFI shelfs (sic!) were indeed empty, but still no Grand Sale! When the NAAFI manager boarded the Hastings it was with cameras strung round his neck, watches worn up both arms, and the rest filling his baggage allowance. Not sure how he was going to get that lot past the Changi Snowdrops though...
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My aunt (Ex WWII WAAF) was the post lady at Wittering in the 1960s, 70s and for much of the 1980s. Anyone remember Mrs Roffe on her GPO bike? She lived off camp in the village but we as civvy kids would go with her to the NAAFI to shop.
I always assumed she got some sort of discount being RAF and after the war a NAAFI mobile canteen driver. (There was an "incident" at Wittering involving her van, and a Vulcan where she learnt a lesson about jet efflux having only previously operated with prop bombers)
I remember NAAFI coffee being the vilest sludge. She'd buy jar after jar of the bloody stuff and even bring some to us when she came to visit. It was great when she retired, no more NAAFI coffee though I think her stockpile lasted until the early 1990s.
I always assumed she got some sort of discount being RAF and after the war a NAAFI mobile canteen driver. (There was an "incident" at Wittering involving her van, and a Vulcan where she learnt a lesson about jet efflux having only previously operated with prop bombers)
I remember NAAFI coffee being the vilest sludge. She'd buy jar after jar of the bloody stuff and even bring some to us when she came to visit. It was great when she retired, no more NAAFI coffee though I think her stockpile lasted until the early 1990s.
I still remember landing at Akrotiri about 7am after an overnight survop from Luqa - when we emerged from Ops at about 7.30 a NAAFI van pulled up, the serving hatch flew open, and the (local) driver announce that the thieving, b*stard NAAFI are here. Two large bottles of Charlie each and we slept like babies .... halcyon daze 
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I will always remember the re-supply ship coming into Gan with all sorts of goodies to re-stock the shelves in the NAAFI shop. Were we surprised to see a nice display of hot water bottles for sale? No, we were not....
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A 3 year tour on a NATO Base in Germany gave me access not only to the NAAFI in the RAF married quarters outside the gate but also to the Canadian Forces Exchange "NATEX" shops inside the complex. What I found was that for identical items, such as luxury and electrical goods, the NAAFI was often nearly twice more expensive than the "NATEX" although NAAFI was useful for uniquely British items such as BFG compatible TVs, Marmite, and tea of course. Decent wine was cheaper in the NAAFI although, to be fair, it was often cheaper still in the local town supermarket. At least we had a choice, unlike some other captive markets around the world.
They certainly weren't called choggie shops in the early 70s. But you'd never get away with what they were called now!
I was in XMG in the first 6 months of 74 and our 2 were murdered by the IRA, near Silverbridge crossroads, if memory serves me right - because were not allowed to use helicopters - the only vehicles that moved in South Armagh then.
I was in XMG in the first 6 months of 74 and our 2 were murdered by the IRA, near Silverbridge crossroads, if memory serves me right - because were not allowed to use helicopters - the only vehicles that moved in South Armagh then.
By: Dominic Holbrook
Published: Sun, June 9, 2013
Published: Sun, June 9, 2013
Not sure how the Brunei garrison will cope if they lose their NAAFI
! Good news for the Chinese smugglers 
My mom bought me my first ever Biggles book, when I was 11, at a NAAFI in West Berlin. It was this edition, not the original.
Back in the days before everything from everywhere being available everywhere, she also brought home a real treat: Cadbury's chocolates.
Special occasion, that was.
Back in the days before everything from everywhere being available everywhere, she also brought home a real treat: Cadbury's chocolates.
Special occasion, that was.
Masirah 10.00hrs any morning. NAAFI van appears at sqn compound, rear shutter goes up to reveal "Charlie" the Indian driver. First man in the already lengthy queue asks Charlie "what you got today Charlie"? "Egg loles, cheese loles, egg & tomato loles, cheese and pickle loles, cheese and tomato loles. "Great I'll have a chocolate milk please". Second man in queue "what you got today Charlie"? Egg loles, cheese loles, etc. "Cheers, I'll have a Coke". Third man in queue, etc etc. Could take up to half an hour to get served some days.
Nemo Me Impune Lacessit
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After basic training in 1959 my first unit had a YMCA that was much better than the NAAFI with fresher food but didn't serve alcohol. Out on the range etc. it was the Sally Ann that would usually show up come rain or shine, the NAAFI only came out when it was fine weather. In Germany, attached to an Army Air Corps unit, they had a bar that beat anything the NAAFI could produce.
Introduced to the Cheese & Onion Pasty off the NAAFI wagon in the early 70's & ate them in lots of different locations, nothing these days comes close ~ still drool at the thought (or probably old age) 
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It was no surprise that NAAFI lost the contract in Cyprus in 2006 to a commercial rival - I say commercial because NAAFI could never compete as a business, instead 'enjoying' and relying on its non-competitive arrangement it had with the MoD for donkeys years. An organisation that gave many fond memories but a bit of a dinosaur in today's money grabbing climate......
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Coningsby Airshow 1987 - Beer Tent. NAAFI required marquee; set price; profits to NAAFI/Stn via usual route. Local brewer provided marquee; paid £5000 for the privilege; net profits to air show.
We went local.
Coninsgby 1997 NAAFI wagon used to clock up some miles and needed replacing. Too expensive; service withdrawn. Local entrepreneur bought small white van, fitted out, trucked better food and sarnis round the camp.
We went local.
If they couldn't be viable on a UK main base, what chance on a smaller unit?
We went local.
Coninsgby 1997 NAAFI wagon used to clock up some miles and needed replacing. Too expensive; service withdrawn. Local entrepreneur bought small white van, fitted out, trucked better food and sarnis round the camp.
We went local.
If they couldn't be viable on a UK main base, what chance on a smaller unit?
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I was generally neutral about NAAFI (having mainly used them at Laarbruch - 8 years continuous slavery), although I acquired a great recipe for a barbecue marinade for chicken form the NAAFI butcher - Dave Robertson.
Some of the "white goods" sometimes appeared to be from the production reject line, and no cheaper either.
However, the true colours were exposed while I spent a few weeks on Ascension Island in early 1982; there was a quite nice little NAAFI shop on base, air conditioned, reasonably well stocked. The Island also had a small contingent of Cable & Wireless and BBC people in residence. One day I took mysle to the shop to cool down and to buy a couple of packets of chocolate digestive biscuits (dark choccy, Beags, officers for the use of) to give my host Victor crew a little treat.
"No, no, no", said the manager, for he was summoned after the assistant refused to sell me the biscuits; "them biscuits and most of the other stuff in this shop is for the C&W and BBC peeps, not you military types".
"Oh", says I, "where in the feckin initials over your door do the letters C, W, B and C appear". He was mightily miffed and complained to the heirarchy, who also not being military passed this heinous and unfeasible request for biscuits on to the military seniors...who promptly told them what the initials NAAFI meant.
The issue was actually being resolved by a subseuqnt wave of resupply when the NAAFI EFI pitched up with loads of stuff (and an excess of black boot polish, as I recall); fine body of men - TA NCOs of whatever Corps did this sort of supply stuff. And it was much cheaper, so shot a bit of a hole in the potential profits of the poxy shop.
And don't get me started on potatoes, surrounded by fields of 'em at LBH, but the NAAFI shelves were stocked with tatties that had been halfway round the world by ship, up and down the UK by road and then stored in a huge warehouse somewhere in the Cotswolds before hitting the shop floor...
Mister B
Some of the "white goods" sometimes appeared to be from the production reject line, and no cheaper either.
However, the true colours were exposed while I spent a few weeks on Ascension Island in early 1982; there was a quite nice little NAAFI shop on base, air conditioned, reasonably well stocked. The Island also had a small contingent of Cable & Wireless and BBC people in residence. One day I took mysle to the shop to cool down and to buy a couple of packets of chocolate digestive biscuits (dark choccy, Beags, officers for the use of) to give my host Victor crew a little treat.
"No, no, no", said the manager, for he was summoned after the assistant refused to sell me the biscuits; "them biscuits and most of the other stuff in this shop is for the C&W and BBC peeps, not you military types".
"Oh", says I, "where in the feckin initials over your door do the letters C, W, B and C appear". He was mightily miffed and complained to the heirarchy, who also not being military passed this heinous and unfeasible request for biscuits on to the military seniors...who promptly told them what the initials NAAFI meant.
The issue was actually being resolved by a subseuqnt wave of resupply when the NAAFI EFI pitched up with loads of stuff (and an excess of black boot polish, as I recall); fine body of men - TA NCOs of whatever Corps did this sort of supply stuff. And it was much cheaper, so shot a bit of a hole in the potential profits of the poxy shop.
And don't get me started on potatoes, surrounded by fields of 'em at LBH, but the NAAFI shelves were stocked with tatties that had been halfway round the world by ship, up and down the UK by road and then stored in a huge warehouse somewhere in the Cotswolds before hitting the shop floor...
Mister B
